초록
Proper determination of pacing threshold is important for patient safety and pacemaker longevity. In general, cardiac muscle contractions caused by pacing pulses are verified by observing the morphology of surface ECG displayed on a monitor. In this study, a method of automatic pacing threshold determination based on morphological difference between intrinsic and paced ECGs was developed. First, characteristics of intrinsic ECG and paced ECG were analyzed in time and frequency domain and a proper discrimination parameter was extracted. Then, the automatic capture verification method based on the parameter was developed and applied to 23 pacemaker patients. The selected parameter was the area of ventricular depolarization wave during 80ms after pacing stimulus. It was found that the method was reliable and effective in identifying paced ECG and, thereby, determing a proper pacing threshold.